Israel's attacks in Gaza since Oct. 7 are unparalleled and unprecedented, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday.
"What is clear is that we have had in a few weeks thousands of children killed, so this is what matters," Antonio Guterres said in New York while presenting a new U.N. environmental report. "We are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since I am secretary general."
It is important to transform the tragedy into an opportunity, Guterres said, adding: "It is essential that after the war we move in a determined, and reversible way to a two-state solution."
He also said he has been "very clear" in denouncing violations of international humanitarian law and violations of the protection of civilians.
Asked why he has not called Israeli attacks "war crimes," Guterres said he did not have a "mandate" to do so.
The Gaza Strip has been under heavy bombardment since the Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise offensive against Israel on Oct. 7.
Since Israel began its attacks on Oct. 7, at least 13,300 Palestinians have been killed, including over 9,000 women and children, and over 30,000 others have been injured, according to the latest figures from the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques, and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel's relentless air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.
An Israeli blockade has also cut Gaza off from fuel, electricity, and water supplies, and reduced aid deliveries to a small trickle.
The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, based on official figures.
Meanwhile, Guterres also said a U.N. protectorate in Gaza would not solve the conflict there, calling instead for a "transition period" involving Arab nations and the United States and leading to a two-state solution.
Guterres said it was "important to be able to transform this tragedy into an opportunity" – which, for him, meant moving "in a determined and irreversible way to a two-state solution."
This means, after the current war between Israel and Hamas fighters in Gaza ends, "a strengthened Palestinian Authority, assuming responsibilities in Gaza," he said.
But the Palestinian Authority cannot go into Gaza backed by Israeli tanks, he added — meaning the "international community needs to look into a transition period."
"I do not think that a UN protectorate in Gaza is a solution," however, Guterres said.
Instead, he called for a "multi-stakeholder approach" that would see the U.S. act as the "main guarantor" of Israel's security, while Arab nations are "essential" to support Palestinians.
"Everybody needs to come together to create the conditions for the transition, allowing for a strengthened Palestinian Authority to assume responsibilities in Gaza," and from there to a two-state solution, he said.
Guterres also again denounced the killing of civilians – especially children – in Gaza as Israel wages a relentless air and ground campaign in retaliation for the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
For seven years now he has published a "list of shame" of parties to armed conflict who commit grave violations against children. Israel's absence from the list has previously been criticized by human rights organizations.
Without saying whether that may change this year, Guterres put the number of children killed in Gaza into stark context.
In the "shame" reports, the highest number of children killed in one year by one actor was the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2017-2018, followed by the Syrian government and its allies before 2020. Both times the tally was in the hundreds.
"Without entering into discussing the accuracy of the numbers that were published by de facto authorities in Gaza, what is clear is that we have had in a few weeks thousands of children killed," Guterres told reporters.
"We are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since I am Secretary-General."